About this project
The Liberian Dance Troupe (LDT) is an incredible group of young Liberian artists created in the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana. Through Dance, Music and Drama, the LDT celebrate Liberian culture and raise awareness about major issues facing young people in their communities such as AIDS, drug abuse and teen pregnancy.
Award-winning Canadian playwrights Matthew Mackenzie and Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman, in partnership with Toronto's Cahoots Theatre and Calgary's DownStage Theatre have set out to produce the Liberian Dance Troupe's first full season since resettling in Liberia.
LDT leaders empower LDT members ranging in age from 5-18 to become true cultural ambassadors, instilling in the war effected children confidence and a deep sense of pride in their national heritage. One of the many outstanding things the LDT does is use peer tutoring as a way of teaching; ten year olds teach ten year olds, eleven year olds teach eleven year olds. Each kid becomes a specialist in a different field and presents what they know to a group of their peers. During their time in the Buduburam Refugee Camp the LDT performed to thousands of school-aged children, and at the height of the civil war in Liberia even represented their beloved nation at major cultural events in West Africa.
Some of these children have lived through horrendous events and their art has become a way for them to move through their feelings. A young man who witnessed the death of his family could not walk to school without hearing gunshots in his footsteps. Through drumming and dancing he was able to release his fear and use his anger to create art. The power of the LDT’s dance and theatre is breathtaking.
On November 1st Matthew and Charlotte along with Cahoots's Sandra Lefrancois and DownStage's Ellen Close will be travelling to the Liberian capital of Monrovia, where they are planning to purchase land and have architectural plans drawn up for a new home for the Liberian Dance Troupe. Productions of Matthew MacKenzie's play SIA (which is set in the Buduburam Camp) at Cahoots and DownStage will be used as vehicles to raise the funds needed.
This Kickstarter project is dedicated to what happens once their new home is built. The LDT will need funding for their first ever season in Liberia which will also hopefully include a Liberian performance of SIA. Funds raised through this campaign would pay for the LDT's entire first season, including the costs of a SIA performance.
Please donate, so that the remarkable young artists of the Liberian Dance Troupe can continue their extraordinary work!
FAQ
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on November 10, 2011.
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Our everlasting thanks and the knowledge that you've contributed to an amazingly creative group of the strongest people you'll ever meet.
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Our thanks and your very own performance photo of the LDT.
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All the above and a personalized postcard from a member of the Liberian Dance Troupe.
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All the above and two tickets to either of the Toronto (Cahoots') or Calgary (DownStage) productions of Matthew Mackenzie's SIA.
Pledge $200 or more Pledge $200 or more
All of the above and a traditional Liberian craft.
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
The postcard and performance photo rewards, tickets to SIA, and a ceremonial hand-carved Liberian mask.
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
The postcard and performance photo rewards, tickets to SIA, and a traditional Liberian male or female outfit made to measure.
Project By
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Founded in 2004, The Bridge Theatre Company is a New York City-based organization that produces, workshops and champions new Canadian work. Dedicated to cross-border development between Canada and the US, the company examines the relationship between these two contemporary theatrical cultures through the work of emerging playwrights, actors and directors. As founding members and co-Artistic Producers of the Bridge, Esther Barlow and Dustin Olson have produced and developed 10 productions, 15 workshops and countless readings of new work by both emerging and established Canadian playwrights, including Ken Cameron, David Carley, Trevor Ferguson, Kate Hewlett, Marcia Johnson, T.J Dawe, Oonagh Duncan, Michael Rubenfeld, David West Read, Nicolas Billon, Matthew MacKenzie, and Daniel Karasik.
